FAST & FURIOUS MOVIE REVIEW

By Cody McGowan

Staff Writer

It’s surprising to me how popular “The Fast and the Furious” franchise has become. I suppose it shouldn’t be, really. The recipe is basic enough: fast cars, big explosions, tight clothing over well-formed bodies. It seems too simple not to work. However, what it amounts to, despite its fairly standard make-up, is an original idea. Perhaps not the most original, but one without a built-in audience ready to support it. In a time when the few movies that gain a following are ones that are based on properties with origins outside the world of cinema, (I’m looking at you “The Dark Knight”) it’s refreshing to see something new and, however mildly, daring come to the big screen. The latest in the franchise, the unimaginatively named “Fast & Furious,” continues this tradition of illegal street-racing, rogue-copping, vigilante-justicing and brain-melting excitement.

Let me be very clear: this movie, objectively speaking, is not good. It is, in fact, a bad movie. The acting is subpar, the direction is questionable, and the writing is juvenile. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel reprise their roles as Brian O’Conner and Dominic Toretto, respectively.

In this installment, Toretto is out for blood against the people who wronged him, the very same gang of miscreants that the recently reinstated FBI agent O’Conner is investigating. Can you say coincidence? Beyond that, the plot gets murkier and murkier, but really, who needs it? Toward the beginning O’Conner resolutely declares to Toretto that “a lot has changed.” But you know what? It hasn’t. Not one bit in four movies. Cars go fast, cars crash, cars go fast then crash. That’s all that matters.

The sole merit of this movie is in its stunt work. Where it is common for modern movies to rely on computer generated images in lieu of old-fashioned stunts, “Fast & Furious” provides some of the most exciting car chases in recent memory, in particular the opening scene. This works both for and against the movie, as it easily grabs the attention of the viewer, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that not a single part of the movie could live up to its first ten minutes. The relative uniqueness of using stunt-people instead of computer animation gives “Fast & Furious” enough credibility to warrant at least a glance.

There’s not much to say, in the end, about “Fast &Furious.” It’s simple, sometimes painfully so. It’s not great cinema. It’s not even a great action movie. It is, nevertheless, a genuine action movie, something that is fading from the public view. “Fast &Furious” is a movie that, setting aside its flaws (and there are many), values humanity over technology. It’s a rarity in the megaplex and one that should be appreciated for its commitment to that ideal. So crank up the Don Omar, buy American, and allow “Fast &Furious” to Tokyo drift its way into your heart.